Question Winload.exe – 0xc0000428

Page 5 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Archangel_M

Archangel_M

Member
Mar 29, 2020
54
0
11
Okay, so, a couple of weeks ago I returned home from being out of town. My computer needed to restart to install an Avast update, but upon rebooting I ran into this issue as pictured below:

A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source.
If you have a Windows installation disc, insert the disc and restart your computer. Click "Repair You Computer," and then choose a recovery tool.

Otherwise, to start Windows so you can investigate further, press the ENTER key to display the boot menu, press F8 for Advanced Boot Options, and select Last Known Good. If you understand why the digital signature cannot be verified and want to start Windows without this file, temporarily disable driver sginature enforcement.

File: \Windows\System32\Winload.exe
Status: 0xc0000428
Info: Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file.
Click to expand...


20200317_202122_HDR[1].jpg


I managed to get into the BIOS screen here, as shown below:

received_565272280747965[2].jpeg



The problem is that I no longer have the installation disk (it's Windows 7 Ultimate x64 version), because it along with half my belongings was stolen by a former roommate who is now in prison on unrelated charges. It's unrecoverable. As well, the product key that I had written down is also gone. I'm at a loss for what to do. I sent away for a 1Tb flash drive so I could at least try to recover my files from the main hard drive, but I have no idea how to do that. I know absolutely nothing about Linux, Ubuntu, or any other non-Windows system, and I really don't know anything about Windows except how to use it. Obviously I'm in a real bind. Windows 7 was discontinued and is no longer supported, so I have no way to buy a legal copy. I just want to be able to boot up my computer and retrieve my files. What can be done?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Steltek

Steltek

Diamond Member
Mar 29, 2001
3,308
1,046
136
Archangel_M said:
Is there no way to locate my product key using my product ID?
Click to expand...

No. The product ID just tells what type of Windows you had installed and what channel it was sold for (i.e. OEM Windows for system builders or Retail Windows). The Product ID has no links to a product key.

Ok. Here is where we stand.

For whatever reason there is no product keycode for Windows 7 Ultimate on the old computer (maybe due to the fact it was OEM or possibly due to how it was activated, or due to something the person who sold it to you did to the disc). Further, the recovered Product ID says it was an OEM copy of Windows, so even if you had the keycode you still couldn't download a copy of the Windows ISO from Microsoft via that website (it only supports retail keys). Thus, the only way you can get a replacement DVD is to purchase one or to download an ISO file of it from 3rd party sites to burn to DVD-R (all of which are of dubious sources at this point given Microsoft has removed all reliable download links from their servers).

Now, concerning file recovery. If you have important files on your OS drive that you need to recover and you know where (or about where) they were located, you can use Windows Explorer on the Hiren PE desktop to navigate the desktop computer G: drive to search for and copy/paste files just like you would on any Windows computer. You can then either paste them to a folder on the flash drive, or you can even make a folder on the 2nd hard drive you were using as a data drive and copy the files you want to recover into that folder. Anything copied to flash drive or the 2nd data drive in that manner should be safe once you shut down.

Now, if you intend to take the computer to a repair shop for professional assistance, I wouldn't do anything else to it at this point beyond file recovery until someone can look at it.

On the other hand, if want to go further yourself, you will have to locate a Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 ISO file from a trustworthy source (either buy retail or download and burn it to a DVD-R). You can try to boot the desktop computer with it, and try the "repair your computer" option when it is presented. If you have saved restore points on the computer (which there might be unless you turned them off), the DVD repair might permit you to be able to roll back to a restore point that will allow it to boot. No guarantees, and because it could mess things up further, make sure you do any file recovery you need to beforehand. Since this is something a shop would try, if you plan to take it to somebody, don't do it yourself.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Steltek

Steltek

Diamond Member
Mar 29, 2001
3,308
1,046
136
DrMrLordX said:
@Steltek

Just wanted to say, good job salvaging this operation. Good luck finding a Win7 Ultimate .iso though.
Click to expand...

Thanks. We get so close, and get kicked in the teeth at the end. Such is the nature of Windows system recovery... :(

At least he can salvage his important files, anyway. I also sent the OP a PM with information on how (with work) he might locate a trustworthy Win7 Ultimate SP1 ISO.

There is a very long and interesting thread in the Windows Ten Forums regarding building your own rescue media with Win10XPE. I guess I'm going to have to invest some time at some point to see what it is about. I didn't even notice until now, but that Hirens CD PE disc did have an old version of Teamviewer installed. Had I been paying attention and seen that, this might have made things much easier to do.

Win10XPE - Build Your Own Rescue Media - Windows 10 Help Forums

As many know, hosting has been a long running issue with PE Rescue Media here... So limiting the available media , also limits the download demand on my free account(s).... What I would really like to see is Users building their own custom PE Media Rescue
www.tenforums.com www.tenforums.com
 
Last edited:
Upvote 1 Downvote
Archangel_M

Archangel_M

Member
Mar 29, 2020
54
0
11
Okay, got a legal copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, got a WD 2TB external drive to back up my files. Before even trying to do the repair disc option, I tried to make a backup of my main hard drive. I selected all, tried dragging it to the backup folder—nothing. Tried to right-click and slected 'Copy to folder...'—nothing. Right-clicked, selected copy, then went to the backup folder to right-click and pastes—nothing. What am I doing wrong?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

ArisVer

Golden Member
Mar 6, 2011
1,345
32
91
I am assuming that you are booting from the Hirens BootCD (USB).
You should be able to see your new WD 2TB external disk.

Are you able to see your internal disk, the disk you want to copy from? Are you able to see the folder C:\Users\yourusername (this is the folder that contains all the subfolders like Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos and others)? If so, you should be able to copy, and try again to copy this folder to your external disk.

If you cannot see the folder, or not being able to copy, I can only assume that you have a problem with encryption. I cannot help you there as I don't have any experience with encryption/decryption of disks. A more experienced user might be able to help you more.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Steltek

Steltek

Diamond Member
Mar 29, 2001
3,308
1,046
136
ArisVer said:
I am assuming that you are booting from the Hirens BootCD (USB).
You should be able to see your new WD 2TB external disk.

Are you able to see your internal disk, the disk you want to copy from? Are you able to see the folder C:\Users\yourusername (this is the folder that contains all the subfolders like Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos and others)? If so, you should be able to copy, and try again to copy this folder to your external disk.

If you cannot see the folder, or not being able to copy, I can only assume that you have a problem with encryption. I cannot help you there as I don't have any experience with encryption/decryption of disks. A more experienced user might be able to help you more.
Click to expand...

It isn't an encryption issue. We worked on it offline for a while and he wasn't able to back up his files. Looking more like a hardware problem at this point. He is going to take the system to somebody to have them look at it once he is able to get out from the coronavirus lockdown.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Archangel_M

Archangel_M

Member
Mar 29, 2020
54
0
11
Ran CHKDSK /r on my computer once I got Windows 7 Ultimate disk in the drive. Once it completed yesterday afternoon it went straight to repair and has been in that process ever since. It won't let me cancel.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom